Vietnam's Vietjet orders 100 Airbus A321neo planes
LE BOURGET: Attendees tour the Paris International Air Show at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport, north of Paris, on June 17, 2025. – AFP
LE BOURGET: Vietnamese carrier Vietjet has ordered 100 single-aisle A321neo jets from Airbus, the European plane maker said Tuesday in the latest deal announced at the Paris Air Show. The deal would be worth almost $13 billion under 2018 catalogue prices. It includes an option for Vietjet, Vietnam's largest private airline, to buy a further 50 of the jets at a later date. 'This new agreement marks a significant milestone in our strategic partnership with Airbus,' said Vietjet chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao.
'These modern and efficient aircraft have been instrumental in Vietjet's growth, helping us make air travel more accessible and affordable for millions, while strengthening our role as a connector for economic development, cultural exchange and global connectivity,' she added. Airbus executive vice president Benoit de Saint-Exupery noted the deal followed hot on the heels of a new order by Vietjet for 20 A330neo widebody aircraft. 'Together the A321neo and A330neo will be perfect partners for Vietjet to continue to spread its wings, efficiently matching capacity more closely to demand across its network,' he said in a statement. Vietjet operates a fleet of more than 100 Airbus aircraft.
As of the end of May, more than 7,000 A321neo aircraft—the largest of Airbus' best-selling A320neo family—have been ordered by over 90 customers worldwide, Airbus said. The Vietjet deal came a day after Airbus announced orders for a total of more than 100 planes from Saudi companies Riyadh Air and AviLease and Polish airline LOT. Those deals were worth nearly $20 billion at 2018 catalogue prices—which Airbus has since phased out, as final sale prices vary according to contract terms and the version of an aircraft. Airbus rival Boeing has meanwhile said its focus at the Paris Air Show is on 'supporting customers' after the Air India crash last week.- AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
10 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Taiwan tests sea drones as Beijing keeps up pressure
YILAN: Models of unmanned surface vehicles and weapons developed by Defense Systems Redeployment Group (DSRG) are seen on display during an event held by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) in Yilan on June 17, 2025. – AFP YILAN: A Taiwanese-made sea drone capable of carrying bombs skimmed across waters off the island Tuesday in a display of uncrewed surface vehicles that could boost its military firepower against China. With Beijing sustaining military pressure on the island, Taiwan is increasing investment in aerial and maritime drones, which have been widely used in Russia's war in Ukraine to outfox traditional heavy weaponry. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. Twelve local and foreign companies took part in an Uncrewed Sea Vehicle (USV) demonstration hosted by the government's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) in Yilan, southeast of Taipei. It was an opportunity for 'potential clients such as the military and coast guard' to collect data from the drone manufacturers for future mass production, the institute said in a statement. Taiwanese shipbuilder Lungteh's Black Tide sea drone, which is designed to operate in 'contested environments', was one of three USVs put through its paces. With a top speed of more than 43 knots, the Black Tide can be used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and 'one-way strike', according to the company. Meanwhile, Carbon-Based Technology Inc's 'stealth' USV could carry bombs and was cheap enough to conduct 'sacrificial' missions, said company director Stacy Yu after the drone was tested. US defense technology company Auterion also signed a deal with Taiwan for its 'battle-tested' operating system and swarming technology to be used in a new generation of military drones. While President Lai Ching-te has pledged to make Taiwan 'the Asian hub' for drone production, there have been challenges to ramping up the island's output. Taiwan's annual production capacity for aerial drones is between 8,000 to 10,000 units, well below its 2028 target of 180,000 units, the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) said in a report on Monday. High manufacturing costs from using non-China components made it 'difficult for Taiwanese products to compete with Chinese-made products in the commercial market', DSET analysts said. And limited domestic orders and a scarcity of foreign government contracts were also impeding 'further scaling' of production, it said.- AFP
Kuwait Times
12 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Taiwan adds China's Huawei and SMIC to export blacklist
BEIJING: People are seen at an electronics store in a mall in Beijing on June 16, 2016. – AFP TAIPEI: Taiwan has put Chinese tech giant Huawei and chip titan SMIC on an export blacklist, further squeezing Beijing's access to the technology needed to build the most advanced chips. Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp were among 601 entities added to Taiwan's 'strategic high-tech commodities entity list', the Ministry of Economic Affairs' International Trade Administration said Sunday. Taiwan is a global chip powerhouse, producing more than half of the world's semiconductors — including almost all high-end chips. Local companies wanting to ship high-tech products to Huawei, SMIC or any other entity on the list will have to obtain permission from Taiwan's government. 'Based on the prevention of arms proliferation and other national security considerations, a total of 601 entities involved in arms proliferation activities were added to the list... including Chinese companies such as Huawei and SMIC,' the administration said in a statement. Other entities added to the list are based in Russia, Pakistan, Iran and Myanmar, according to the statement. Taipei's move deals another blow to Chinese tech companies, which are already facing increasing export restrictions imposed by the United States. The United States has expanded efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned they could be used to advance Beijing's military systems and other tech capabilities. Washington recently unveiled guidelines warning firms that using Chinese-made high-tech AI semiconductors, specifically Huawei's Ascend chips, would put them at risk of violating US export controls. Tougher controls have prevented US chip giant Nvidia, one of Huawei's rivals, from selling certain AI semiconductors — widely regarded as the most advanced in the world — to Chinese firms. As a result, it is now facing tougher competition from local players in the crucial market, including Huawei. Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang told reporters last month that Chinese companies 'are very, very talented and very determined, and the export control gave them the spirit, the energy and the government support to accelerate their development'. But Huawei's chips still 'lag behind the United States by one generation', state media quoted its founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei as saying in a rare interview last week. Beijing has accused the United States of 'bullying' and 'abusing export controls to suppress and contain' Chinese firms. — AFP
Kuwait Times
12 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Vietnam's Vietjet orders 100 Airbus A321neo planes
LE BOURGET: Attendees tour the Paris International Air Show at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport, north of Paris, on June 17, 2025. – AFP LE BOURGET: Vietnamese carrier Vietjet has ordered 100 single-aisle A321neo jets from Airbus, the European plane maker said Tuesday in the latest deal announced at the Paris Air Show. The deal would be worth almost $13 billion under 2018 catalogue prices. It includes an option for Vietjet, Vietnam's largest private airline, to buy a further 50 of the jets at a later date. 'This new agreement marks a significant milestone in our strategic partnership with Airbus,' said Vietjet chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. 'These modern and efficient aircraft have been instrumental in Vietjet's growth, helping us make air travel more accessible and affordable for millions, while strengthening our role as a connector for economic development, cultural exchange and global connectivity,' she added. Airbus executive vice president Benoit de Saint-Exupery noted the deal followed hot on the heels of a new order by Vietjet for 20 A330neo widebody aircraft. 'Together the A321neo and A330neo will be perfect partners for Vietjet to continue to spread its wings, efficiently matching capacity more closely to demand across its network,' he said in a statement. Vietjet operates a fleet of more than 100 Airbus aircraft. As of the end of May, more than 7,000 A321neo aircraft—the largest of Airbus' best-selling A320neo family—have been ordered by over 90 customers worldwide, Airbus said. The Vietjet deal came a day after Airbus announced orders for a total of more than 100 planes from Saudi companies Riyadh Air and AviLease and Polish airline LOT. Those deals were worth nearly $20 billion at 2018 catalogue prices—which Airbus has since phased out, as final sale prices vary according to contract terms and the version of an aircraft. Airbus rival Boeing has meanwhile said its focus at the Paris Air Show is on 'supporting customers' after the Air India crash last week.- AFP
